1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to, in general, to a bird feeder and, more particularly, to an apparatus that gravity dispenses bird food to each level upon which the bird feed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Although the related art bird feeders used in the past have performed their function of providing feed for birds and attracting them to a certain area, they are generally unsatisfactory in that they often have to be attached to another object such as a tree, fence or post that is not in a preferred location. Very often earlier bird feeders had to be constantly attended in order to keep an sufficient amount of feed available to the birds. Some feeders tried to solve this problem by providing an abundance of feed at one time. However, a large portion of this feed was often wasted by exposure to the weather or scattered by the birds or marauding rodents such as squirrels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,349 to W. C. Bryant, et al., on Jun. 11, 1991 for a Bird Feeder Tree describes an artificial tree having seed in its trunk and feeding ports in the trunk providing access to the feed by the birds.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,319 to M. L. Blasbalg on Sep. 03, 1991 for a Bird Feeder has a tubular upper section and a tubular lower section. There is a valve assembly to selectively dispense seed from the upper section to the lower section.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,730 to R. S. Figley on Feb. 11, 1992 for a Bird Feeder describes a bird feeder having a straight tube filled with feed opening up to a single tray. The feeder has a hood to keep rodents away from the feed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,935 to R. P. Edwards on Aug. 17, 1993 for a Bird Feeder has a center column for containing seed and an outer column forming a chamber for feed. The seed is distributed into the chamber by a slot through the center column and accessed by birds through narrow slot through an outer column. There are perches for the bird to grasp.
The present bird feeder may be located in a preferred area to maximize viewing of the birds while they feed and the feeder can be charged with feed which is automatically distributed to one or more feeding platforms.